All posts for the month November, 2016

Actually, I wouldn’t exactly call Portia, the heroine, a vixen. When I think of that term, I think of an overly flirtatious young miss. Portia is way too knowledgeable and overtly provocative to qualify as merely a vixen.

She also is hiding a whopper of a secret. She arrives to marry Locke’s father, some decades her senior. Locke decides to protect his father and marries her himself. After all, he does need an heir, but he has no intention of loving anyone as much as his father loved his late mother. Her loss only led his father to madness. There’s no chance Locke will fall in love with this little gold digger.

But apparently dear old dad wasn’t so crazy after all. He engineered the whole thing, somehow knowing the two would be ideal for each other.

This book is rather racy for me, but the pair are hard-working, kind, and most importantly forgiving.

I confess I have never been a Debbie Macomber fan. Her books have struck me as more goody two shoes than I could bear. i always turned to the tales of dukes and earls for my leisure reading.

Now, however, I find myself writing stores that are similar to those Macomber has long been famous for. I am all about good people, happy ever after, and small town charm. I don’t presume to have her skill; I’m still very much a novice novelist. But in trying to approximate what she does, I have gained respect for her as an author.

Twelve Days of Christmas hits just the note we need for the season and for the climate of the country right now too. The heroine is impossibly cheery and sweet. The hero is a modern day Scrooge who falls victim to being “killed with kindness.”

As a blogger myself, I could also relate to the heroine’s struggle to gain readership.

If only real life could be as wholesome as the world Macomber creates, we’d all be a lot happier.

P.S. Southern Hospitality, the second book in my Calusa series will be out this week.

I had read and enjoyed the previous Heartbreaker Bay book by Jill Shalvis, so I was eager to read her novella One Snowy Night.

I’m working on book two of my own series and trying to read more books set in small towns. Even though the Heartbreaker Bay series is set in San Francisco, its close-knit cast of characters make it function like a little town. They all know each other’s secrets and have each other’s backs.

The couple in this one went to high school together, but their paths hadn’t crossed again until Rory came to work for a dog groomer near Max’s office. He’s heading home to Tahoe and. at her boss’ behest, insists she ride with him rather than take multiple buses and trains on Christmas Eve. She’s desperate to keep her promise to go home for the first time in years, but the weather isn’t cooperating.

Like the first book, this one includes a big, lovable dog, breezy writing, and good-at-heart people.